Trellis panel and method of fabrication

ABSTRACT

A trellis panel and method of manufacture is described. The trellis panel is comprised of a rigid sheet of wood formed from wood particles or chips or straw and/or plant material glued together and treated to form a weather resistant sheet. The sheet has a substantially uniform thickness. A plurality of openings are disposed throughout the sheet. Preferably, but not exclusively, the sheet is formed from treated oriented strand board (OSB). The holes are formed in the board by a die-cutting device which has a die surface configured to cut a plurality of these openings throughout the sheet.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a trellis panel formed from a rigid sheet of wood chip components or the like and the method of manufacture thereof.

BACKGROUND ART

There are two forms of trellises commonly known. One is formed from injection molded plastics material whereby there is formed a single sheet having transverse slats and openings which simulate the wood trellis. There are several disadvantages associated with this product. One disadvantage is that the sheet is not rigid and can easily be bent particularly at temperatures above 90° F. where the plastic softens and the sheet can deform. At cold temperatures such as −40° F. the plastic becomes brittle and can easily crack, particularly if it is impacted. Also, these plastic sheets do not retain paint or the paint easily chips and it is therefore necessary to add a color pigmentation to the plastics in order to produce panels of different colors. This is an expensive process. Also, plastic will deteriorate under ultraviolet rays of the sun and the coloring will change. As opposed to known wood trellises, plastic trellises are very expensive to produce costing at least twice as much.

Known wooden trellises are formed from narrow strips of wood which is approximately ⅜″ in thickness and one inch wide and which are disposed transverse with one another and interconnected at their crossings by staples. These strips of wood are cut from ordinary wood and sometimes wood of inferior quality. Because these wood strips contain knots they easily break and deform in the knot areas. Knots also often become loose and leave holes in the strips of wood. Still further, when cutting the trellis with a saw the wood often splits or bursts in the region of a knot. It is also very difficult to cut these types of trellises as they have irregular surfaces. Because the wood strips are interconnected by staples, these staples will rust when exposed to the elements and cause rust drip stains on the wood, particularly visible when the trellis is painted with a light colored paint. This oxidation therefore affects the aesthetics of the trellis and the rust will eventually cause the staple to become very visible and eventually break.

A further disadvantage of known trellises is that they are difficult to paint or stain due to the fact that the strips of wood are laid one on top of each other and lie in two different planes. These irregularities also cause stain or paint to drip over the strips. The interconnection of staples also does not provide for a rigid trellis and a circumferential frame is preferably required for securing the trellis sheets as the sheets have an accordion effect due to their weak interconnecting points and they warp. Another disadvantage of these wooden trellises is that when they are stacked together they often interlock with one another and it becomes difficult to separate them and often the separation causes damage to the trellis. The staples are also loosened when the trellis warps or is applied a transverse force thereto. Such trellises also easily collect dust and warp because of the many knots in the strips. The knots drop out due to humidity, freezing and temperature changes. The fabrication of these trellises is also time-consuming and expensive as it is necessary to load staples in the several stapling machines used to fabricate these. Maintenance is also required to these machines to load the stapler gun and to service the compressors therefore requiring several machine stoppages, particularly if some of the staplers become defective. When these trellises are cut to a desired size, often some of the intersecting strips of wood no longer have any fasteners and small pieces, loosely connected, can easily become detached.

Reference is also made to U.S. Pat. No. 3,564,770 which describes a closure structure which is provided with two panels having flexible sheet material such as fiberboard or plastic sufficient to resist deflection and which are mounted loosely one behind another in a shutter frame. openings formed I these panels and are of diamond-shape. By displacing one panel with respect to the other the openings can be closed or opened to adjust the size of the opening for the passage of light. There are several disadvantages of these displaceable panels, one being that if one of the panels warped due to a change in temperature, the panels will jam with respect to one another and these panels are not constructed for aesthetic effect but more for providing adjustable light passage. These panels are specifically constructed for use in shutters and mounted in pairs to provide the desired result of varying the size of openings in the shutter for the passage of light. The panels are not intended for individual use as is the case with trellis sheets. Typical examples of trellis sheet constructions are also illustrated in DES374485.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

It is a feature of the present invention to provide a trellis panel which substantially overcomes all of the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art.

Another feature of the present invention is to provide a method of forming a trellis panel from a single rigid sheet of wood and/or straw particles or chips pressed and glued together.

According to the above features, from a broad aspect, the present invention provides a trellis panel comprising a rigid sheet of wood formed from wood particles or chips glued together and treated to form a weather resistant sheet. The sheet has a substantially uniform thickness. A plurality of openings are disposed throughout the sheet.

According to a further broad aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of forming a trellis panel which comprises the steps of providing a rigid sheet of wood and/or straw particles or chips pressed and glued together. The sheet is positioned in a die-cutting device. The die-cutting device has a cutting die surface configured to cut a plurality of openings in the sheet. The cutting die surface is pressed against the board to form a plurality of openings throughout the sheet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the trellis panel of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a section of the panel illustrating the openings formed therein;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view similar to FIG. 2 but showing openings of different dimensions;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view showing an opening formed through the rigid sheet of wood which is herein an oriented strand board and illustrating its construction;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a prior art wood trellis; and

FIG. 6 is a schematic view illustrating the method of constructing the trellis panel of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown generally at 10 the trellis panel of the present invention. It consists of a rigid sheet 11 formed from wood particles or chips 12, as better illustrated in FIG. 4, which are glued together by a resin or other suitable binder and pressed to form a panel. The panel is then treated with a chemical preservative or treated under controlled healing to form a weather resistant panel. The sheet is of substantially uniform thickness throughout. A plurality of openings 13, as better illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, are cut through the sheet and as herein shown equidistantly spaced. However, the sheet may have any desired pattern of openings.

As shown in FIG. 4, the sheet is formed from chip board, straw board or oriented strand boards (OSB) having the wood chips or particles 12 glued and pressed together. Some strand boards are treated to be highly weather resistant and are usually guaranteed for a period of up to fifty (50) years. However the present invention contemplates the fabrication of trellis panels from other types of rigid sheets such as plywood sheets which are formed of wood sheet wherein the sheets are stacked with the oriented perpendicular to one another and glued together under pressure. The trellis panel could also be formed from particle board as is well known in the art. It is also envisaged that the trellis panel can be formed from rigid straw board sheet formed of straw fibers and/or particles pressed and glued together. The glue binder is also treated to form a weather resistant sheet. It is also envisaged that the board may be formed of wood particles mixed with straw particles which are glued and pressed together to form a rigid sheet. These straw particles may be formed of several plants, shrubs, sugar canes, etc.

As herein shown the trellis panel is an elongated, rectangular panel, and sized as required, and the openings 13 are usually angulated at 45° with respect to the longitudinal axis 14 of the panel. These openings 13 may also have a different configuration in that they could be round or hexagonal or may have any other shape and different sizes as dictated by the die-cutting surface in the fabrication process and the desired decorative effect.

An advantage of the trellis panel of the present invention is that it utilizes wood particles or chip or other particle materials and the sheet therefore is not subjected to warping and is also free of knots. This makes the sheet absorptive to wood staining liquid solutions and good adherence of paint whereby to impart a desired coloring to the sheet. This stain can be applied by the end user and the sheets can be re-stained from time-to-time should there be discoloring. It is also possible to paint these sheets with ordinary paint and this process is facilitated due to the fact that the opposed surfaces of the sheet are flat surfaces.

FIG. 5 illustrates the prior art trellis as previously described wherein the trellis is formed from wood slats 15 and 15′ which are disposed at right angles to one another on the bias and interconnected at their crossing 16 by staples 17. These staples when exposed to weathering will form rust drippings such as shown at 18 which are visible to the eye and unsightly. When the trellis is cut there are also sections of the trellis which are not interconnected together, such as sections 19, 19′ or 19″ and this makes the trellis unstable. Also, the knots 20 cause warping of the slats 15 and often will leave knot holes 21 therein. Further, small pieces of slats, such as at 15′, are loosely retained.

With reference now to FIG. 6 there is shown the method of constructing a trellis panel 10 of the present invention. This method comprises providing a rigid sheet 30 of wood and/or straw particles or chips pressed and glued together and feeding the sheet into a die-cutting device 31 by suitable conveying means such as the belt conveyor 32 as herein illustrated. The sheets could also be hand fed. The sheet is positioned in the device under a cutting die surface 33 which is configured to cut a plurality of the openings 13 therein. The die has a support platform 34 on which the sheet 30 is supported and the die cutting surface 33 of the platen 35 is pressed over the sheet 30 by pistons 36 to cut the openings through the sheet. The cut-away pieces 37 are then ejected or collected in a collecting trough 38 which then conveys these cut-away pieces 37 to a recycling machine 39 wherein these pieces are chipped to form further particles for the further manufacturing of rigid sheets of wood or other wood products.

After the openings are die-cut form the sheet 30 the platen 35 is retracted by the pistons 36 and the sheet 30 is ejected by the oncoming sheet 30′ on the feed conveyor 32 which is pushed into the die-cutting device 31 and thereby ejecting the formed trellis panel 10 by means of a transfer conveyor 40. The transfer conveyor 40 can then convey the sheet under the nozzles of spraying apparatus 41 which sprays a preservative or a stain or paint onto the sheet. Some of these spray devices are angularly oriented whereby the inner surfaces 13′ of the openings 13 are treated or painted.

It is also contemplated that the sheet 30 can be progressively fed within the die-cutting device 31 to cut sections of the sheet only whereby the cutting die surface 33 may be smaller and less expensive to produce. The entire sheet is die-cut by displacing the sheet 3 or 4 times under the die to cut the openings in a progressive manner. The progression feed could be manual or automated.

It is within the ambit of the present invention to cover any obvious modifications of the preferred embodiment described herein, provided such modifications fall within the scope of the appended claims. 

1. A trellis panel comprising a rigid sheet of wood formed from wood particles or chips glued together and treated to form a weather resistant sheet, said sheet having a substantially uniform thickness, and a plurality of openings disposed throughout said sheet.
 2. A trellis panel as claimed in claim 1 wherein said rigid sheet of wood is an oriented strand board sheet.
 3. A trellis panel as claimed in claim 1 wherein said rigid sheet of wood is a plywood sheet formed of wood sheeting glued together with their grains cross-oriented.
 4. A trellis panel as claimed in claim 1 wherein said rigid sheet of wood is a particle board sheet.
 5. A trellis panel as claimed in claim 1 wherein said rigid sheet of wood further comprises a mixture of straw and/or particles.
 6. A trellis panel as claimed in claim 1 wherein said openings are of like shape and equidistantly spaced through said sheet.
 7. A trellis panel as claimed in claim 6 wherein said openings are square openings at an angle of 45° with respect to the longitudinal axis of said sheet, said sheet being a rectangular sheet.
 8. A trellis panel as claimed in claim 1 wherein said wood components are exposed on outer surfaces of said sheet and are absorptive to wood staining liquid solutions whereby to impart a desired coloring to said sheet.
 9. A trellis panel comprising a rigid sheet of straw and/or plant material boards formed of straw and/or plant particles pressed and glued together and treated to form a weather resistant sheet, said sheet having a substantially uniform thickness, and a plurality of openings disposed throughout said sheet.
 10. A method of constructing a trellis panel comprising the steps of: (i) providing a rigid sheet of wood and/or straw particles pressed and glued together, (ii) positioning said sheet in a die-cutting device, said device having a cutting die surface configured to cut a plurality of spaced openings in said sheet, (iii) pressing said cutting die surface against said board to form a plurality of openings throughout said sheet, and (iv) treating said sheet to render said sheet weather resistant.
 11. A method as claimed in claim 10 wherein there is further provided the steps of: (v) collecting pieces of said sheet which have been cut away to form said plurality of openings, and (vi) recycling said pieces to form further rigid sheets of wood.
 12. A method as claimed in claim 10 wherein there is further provided one of the further steps of (a) spraying said sheet with a staining liquid solution, (b) painting said sheet.
 13. A method as claimed in claim 10 wherein the step (iv) comprises one of (a) treating said sheet with a chemical preservative, or (b) treating said sheet under controlled heating. 